HERLING: What happens to food we don't eat

Though I'm a strong proponent of paying attention to the food you're purchasing and eating, I think that something greatly overlooked in our society is the food you're not eating.

I'm sure we can all recall at some point in our lives when a parent or guardian told us to clean our plates, that there are people who would love to have the food we have available. And it's true, about 800 million people on this planet go hungry every day, with the number unfortunately rising throughout both the developed and developing worlds.

I have a clear memory of sitting in the cafeteria in grade school and seeing just how much of the food got tossed into the trash every day, and thinking about how much of a waste of perfectly good food it all was. However, school cafeterias are far from being the only place where food is wasted. An estimated 25 to 40 percent of food grown, processed and transported in the U.S. will never be consumed, and much of that waste is produced before food even enters your home. So much food is thrown away before it sits on shelves due to the desire we have to only purchase only the most perfect looking produce.

This waste is a real shame, especially when you consider the fact that in Massachusetts alone, more than 375,000 homes struggle with food insecurity. Recently, efforts have been made to bring this perfectly good produce to those who do want it. In Dorchester, The Daily Table sells surplus and aging food at discounted prices in attempts to both provide nutritional food to urban dwellers, while simultaneously cutting back on food wasted in the supply chain. New ideas such as this can drastically reduce the amount of food we end up throwing away to rot in the landfill.

At the end of it's life, food continues to be a tremendous strain on our environment and resources as well. After using energy and resources to transfer our garbage to the closest landfill, it doesn't simply sit there. In case you didn't know, when food waste breaks down in a landfill it turns into methane, a greenhouse gas that, depending on when it is released into the atmosphere, can be up to 70 times more potent than carbon dioxide. After considering the enormous consequences this has on our environment, it's no wonder why efforts for composting are becoming more common.

Having worked on a campaign to secure a curbside composting program for the city of Austin, it should go without saying that I think a comprehensive composting plan is something that all communities can benefit greatly from in multiple ways. As opposed to decomposition in a landfill, when food waste is broken down intentionally through composting, carbon is sequestered and is therefore not released.

Lastly, and perhaps the biggest incentive for all, is that the less waste we send to the landfill, the less we as taxpayers end up paying to maintain that landfill both during and after we use it.

While it seems that we may be a ways away from seeing a composting program come to fruition throughout the South Shore, there are steps we can make to help with waste diversion. It can be as simple as keeping a bin in your freezer than you put food scraps in before transferring them to a compost pile in your backyard. If you don't want to keep a compost pile in your backyard, perhaps you have a neighbor who would be more than happy to take your food scraps for their garden. I don't in any way mean to suggest this as an end-all solution to the problem, as the issues surrounding food waste are vast and complex, but what I am suggesting is to think twice next time you toss that orange peel in the trash.

Marshfield Farmers' Market is open from 2 to 6 p.m. Fridays at the Marshfield Fairgrounds, 140 Main St. Enter from Route 3A or South River Street across from the fire station. Parking and admission are free. The market offers a text reminder the day of the market each week. Sign up by texting the code mar248 to 781-676-3236. For more information, visit MarshfieldFarmersMarket.com. It includes a map of the market, all vendors, products and much more or call the manager, Stephen, at 781-248-8501.